CUSP Fellowship

As part of the White House's Now is the Time initiative (begun under the Obama administration), the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) Counseling program was awarded more than $1.6M by the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) to expand the behavioral health workforce serving individuals in greatest need. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Detroit Mercy's Working with At-Risk Youth (WARY) Fellowship program was implemented from 2014-2018 while a second award was made for implementation of the Counseling Underserved Populations (CUSP) Fellowship program from 2017 - 2021. Whereas the WARY Fellowship program was designed specifically to train Master's level counselors to work with high risk adolescents, the CUSP Fellowship program expands this initiative emphasizing the clinical treatment of high risk individuals across the lifespan and particularly, those in medically underserved communities. As a result of the WARY and CUSP Fellowship programs, more than 100 Detroit Mercy Counseling students will be able to receive advanced training and financial support through these federal initiatives.

Program Description

With a particular emphasis on treating highly marginalized individuals involved in public systems (child welfare, criminal justice, mental health) and individuals living in poverty, the CUSP Fellowship program provides enhanced academic coursework, preparation, and experiential training to participating Counseling students. CUSP Fellows receive advanced training and preparation at no cost as well as a $10,000 stipend for program participation and an early career commitment to treating individuals in greatest need.

CUSP Advanced Training Curriculum

The CUSP curriculum includes four courses that are completed during the Fellows' final year of the Counseling program. Coursework includes:

Counseling Vulnerable Individuals: Advanced Preparation and Practice
An advanced semester-long course emphasizing the treatment of vulnerable individuals across the lifespan, and specifically those related to poverty, geography, and ethnicity. In addition, the course provides advanced preparation in trauma treatment and addiction, as well as a deep, developmentally-informed examination of the myriad issues affecting individuals living in poverty.

Integrated Treatment and Underserved Communities

Mirroring the course content, the course is co-taught by teams of behavioral and primary health professionals, and deals with such topics as co-located vs. integrated treatment, the delivery of behavioral health care in primary care settings, and working with the public health system to create community safety nets. The course also emphasizes integrated treatment for common health problems (e.g., depression and diabetes).

CUSP Pre-Internship Workshop
A brief, highly focused workshop that includes outside reading and writing to prepare students for the specialized internship working with vulnerable populations.

CUSP Inter-Professional Seminar Series: Learning from the LeadersThe seminar series provides an opportunity for Fellows to learn directly from seasoned community-based leaders and practitioners who specialize in treating vulnerable individuals in behavioral and primary health. In addition, leaders from the public systems of mental health, juvenile justice, and child welfare are highlighted, as well as those from the addiction field and K-12 schools.

Participants

In order to be eligible for a CUSP Fellowship, students must:

Be currently enrolled in University of Detroit Mercy's master's programs in Counseling, in Clinical Mental Health, Addiction or School Counseling;

Maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout the Counseling program;

Maintain 90 percent or better attendance in the Counseling program; and

Have U.S. citizenship, be anon-citizen national of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of award.

Participation in the CUSP Fellowship is open to both current Counseling students as well as to those admitted to the Counseling program through 2020.

Financial Information

CUSP Fellows participate in all of the CUSP enhanced coursework free of charge and receive a stipend of $10,000 for completion of the Fellowship, including completion of the specialized internship.

Authorized CUSP and WARY Internship Sites

Currently, there are several authorized internship sites that include but are not limited to: